Returning the book of revelation to its historical context by joey cobble. These prophecies cannot give us any logical conclusions, but they do offer some glimpses of chinas future. Authorship of the book of revelation study archive the preterist. Revelation to john, also called book of revelation or apocalypse of john, last book of the new testament. Revelation was written when christians were entering a time of persecution. Who wrote the book of revelation and the fourth gospel.
The author of revelation in this post i want to explain why it is almost universally thought that the same author did not write the fourth gospel and the book of revelation, and then to show why the latter author was almost certainly not john the son of zebedee, jesus close disciple. The revelation of john is the one book in the new testament that claims john as its author. Properly understanding the administrations dispensations in scripture is prerequisite to deriving from it the authors originally intended meaning. The book of revelation is not so intimidating once you understand what the author was up to. The issue of the authorship of the book of revelation is, among some erudites, still open to debate, with the balance of the opinion against john the apostle for a. Some modern scholars characterize revelations author as a putative figure whom they call john of patmos. First, revelation is a fulfillment of the sixtyfive books that came before it. The book of revelation often called the revelation to john, apocalypse of john, the revelation from jesus christ from its opening words, the apocalypse, the revelation, or simply revelation is the final book of the new testament, and consequently is also the final book of the christian bible. Revelation 1 english standard version esv prologue. Revelation deciphered by nelson walters will knock the spiritual socks off the church. The traditional view maintains that that author john is directly responsible for all the material in the book. Revelation 1 new international version niv prologue. According to new world encyclopedia, the traditional view is that the john who wrote the book of john and the john who wrote revelation are the same guy.
This summary of the book of revelation provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of revelation. The author of chinese book of revelation is an independent researcher on the future of china. When interpreting the book of revelation there are two important elements to remember. Although this date certainly allows for the apostle john to be the author the traditional view, the authority of book comes from what has been written rather than apostolic authorship. Could the author of revelation step forward, please. The author of the book of revelation christopher l. So attested is the book of revelation by early and later church fathers that those who deny it suppose the early church fathers were simply ignorant of the true origins of the book and erroneously assumed that the author must have been the son of zebedee. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant john, 2 who testifies to everything he sawthat is, the word of god and the testimony of jesus christ. Its title is derived from the first word of the koine greek text. The book of revelation, new metaphysical version is the most authoritative, inspiring, metaphysical interpretation of this bible book i have ever read.
The book of revelation starts with this is a revelation from jesus christ, which god gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. Other church fathers such as dionysius of alexandria, eusebius. Indeed, some might feel revelationssymbols and metaphors are so confusing that they. The very fact that the author of the apocalypse simply calls himself john is a dead giveaway that he was well known throughout the churches in asia minor. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant john. Whoever that john was has been a subject of debate. With the book of revelation, the reason for the identification was simple. Revelation is apocalyptic, a kind of writing that is highly symbolic.
It is often called the apocalypse, which is its title in greek, signifying revelation, canonical authority and authorship. John the divine, the book is the revelation of jesus christ rev 1. This is the last book of the bible and the only book of the nt that is exclusively prophetic in character. Serious truth seekers, regardless of age or experience, can reap a rich harvest by applying the information in this text. Lets turn first to the traditional view that the apostle john wrote the book of revelation. Apostle john was supposedly exiled to the greek island. This paper was originally published on and was the best scholarship on the subject. The book of revelation is the only apocalyptic document in the new testament, which reveal the prediction and description of the judgment day. It belongs to the class of apocalyptic literature in which the divine message is conveyed by visions and dreams. John was one of the 12 disciples special students of jesus, who later became the apostles the first. The book of revelation, a prophecy of warning and hope. So, the divine author of revelation is jesus christ and the human author is the apostle john.
But, who was it that penned the word of revelation. The authorship of the johannine worksthe gospel of john, epistles of john, and the book of revelationhas been debated by scholars since at least the 2nd century ad. He wrote it when he was about 92 years old, while a prisoner of rome on the remote desert penal colony of patmos, an island in the aegean sea. The new jerusalem the book of revelation the great. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant john, 2 who bore witness to the word of god and to the testimony of jesus christ, even to all that he saw. There may have been a single author for the gospel and the three epistles. Shes also the author of the book the gnostic gospels. Intro to revelation biblica the international bible. Todays post looks at the evidence for and against john being the author of the book of revelation. The author of the revelation i the revelation was written by a man called john. Although there is some debate, the author is probably the apostle john of the sons of zebedee. The book of revelation apocalypse 1 introduction revelation1 or apocalypse2 is a unique, complex and remarkable biblical text full of heavenly mysteries. In revelation, john is writing about the futurenot the pastas in the gospel.
This has traditionally been taken to mean that he had been exiled there as a martyr for. Revelation 1 niv prologue the revelation from jesus. Although its visions often seem bizarre to the western reader, fortunately the book provides a number of clues for its own interpretation e. The book of revelation conveys several stages of rhetoric persuasion of the audience. It ought to be no prejudice to the credit and authority of this book that it has been rejected by men of corrupt minds, such as cerdon and marcion, and doubted of by men of a better character. At first, the author warns the audience about the upcoming apocalypse, then the author describes its signs and shows. Without that understanding, a study of the book of revelation will at best be confusing, and at worst lead to emotional distress. The book of revelation free online bible study seminar. A number of ancient church fathers, notably irenaeus, believed that the author of revelation was also the author of the gospel of john, and the epistles of 1,2 and 3 john.
Tradition has long held that john the apostle, whom we have seen penned the fourth gospel and the three letters attributed to him, wrote. Four times the author identifies himself as john 1. The traditional view holds that john, the apostle, was the author of revelation. By the time the writings that are now included in the new testament were assembled in their present form, three letters and one gospel were also attributed to john. Revelation matthew henrys commentary bible gateway. Revelation article about revelation by the free dictionary. He begins the body of his book by saying that it is from john to the seven churches in asia rev. Revelation is a long epistle addressed to seven christian communities of the roman province of asia minor, modern turkey, wherein the author recounts what he has seen. Finally, while there is little to commend the notion that a shadowy figure named john the elder wrote the book of revelation, there is ample evidence that it was written by john the apostle. Paul does provide an argument that the gospel of john and revelation could be written by the same person, he admits the evidence is not conclusive. The main debate centers on who authored the writings, and which of the writings, if any, can be ascribed to a common author. He has deciphered and analyzed the prophecies in tui bei tu, with some clear answers provided about china from 2014 to 2126.
John was one of the 12 disciples special students of jesus, who later became the. Do our minds become confused when we hear all those sevens and l2s, and all those strange titles applied to jesusthe alpha and omega and the bright morning star. Nelson walters demonstrates that revelation contains references to hundreds of old and new testament passages. Patmos was a quarry mine for the roman empire, and was home to many political and religious prisoners or slaves. Unlike many books of the new testament, determining the identity of the human author of revelation is of relatively little importance to interpretation. The apostle john is the author of the book of revelation. This obviously lent a lot of weight to the final book of the bible, if someone as important as one of the original 12 disciples wrote it. Visions, prophecy and politics in the book of revelation. The author of the book of revelation identifies himself as john, and the book has been traditionally credited to john the. The author names himself as john, but modern scholars consider it unlikely that the author of revelation also wrote. This post starts a series through the book of revelation. Revelation a study guide about the book of revelation. The book of revelation was written sometime around 96 ce in asia minor. The greek name of the bible book of revelation, apoka.
On the question of authorship, critics differ, as follows. Pagels says the book of revelations author, who calls himself john, was likely a refugee whose home in jerusalem had been leveled by the. Truly, the content is the most important thing of the book of revelation, but knowing just who it was who received is important as well. The apostle john the author of the book of revelation identified himself by the relatively common.
He suggested that the author was a certain john the presbyter, whose name appears elsewhere in ancient writings. The book of revelation presents its author as john. Another sense in which this book is highly traditional, from a jewish point of view is that i utilize the documentary hypothesis to bolster normative understandings of the place of the law in judaism. This book is not, as earlier editions of the bible had it, the revelation of st. Book of revelation read, study bible verses online. And second, well explore johns location and experience when he wrote it. Returning the book of revelation to its historical context. This article will conclude our series titled who wrote the new testament. Before making these two points, i need to explain the traditional view. For an adequate understanding of revelation, the reader must recognize that it is a distinct kind of literature.
Justin martyr, irenaeus, clement of alexandria, tertullian, cyprian, and hippolytus came to that conclusion. The great white throne judgment is described in revelation 20. Victorinus late third century, author of the earliest commentary on the book of revelation, wrote. Revelational article about revelational by the free. Before starting in revelation 1 i want to give plenty of explanations for the authorship, textual design, interpretation, date, themes, and outlines for the book of revelation. The author of the book of revelation is the disciple of jesus. Scripturally sound and recommended by dozens of bible scholars, revelation deciphered is a monumental, oneofakind, biblewide commentary of the end times. The author was probably a christian from ephesus known as john the elder. This very powerful and dynamic teachingtool on the book of revelation shines a light on the symbolism and the mysteries of god revealed to. In an era in which there is much confustion as to whom this john was who wrote the book of revelation, this is just my little bit to throw into the mix. The book of revelation by john the apostle bible probe. It is the only book of the new testament classified as apocalyptic literature rather than didactic or historical, indicating thereby its extensive use of visions, symbols, and allegory, especially in.
While revelation holds mysterious and frightening images of the endtimes, the book of revelation was written to be an encouragement to christians of all times. This name indicates the meaning of revelation it uncovers matters that had been hidden and discloses events that would happen long after it was written. Although many today follow dionysius in his view of authorship, the external evidence seems overwhelmingly supportive of the traditional view. He begins by saying that god sent the visions he is going to relate to his servant john rev.